The Realm of Trove - A Talent for Irena (Chapter 1)
by therealbenjiyokai
Summary: This is a chapter for my new The Realm of Trove series. It is a combination of the video game Trove, and the book series The Magic of Xanth, one of my favorite series. In this chapter, a young boy tries to find his inner Trovian talent, or he will be punished to the Void (the Everdark). In the end, he decided to seek the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing to find his Trovian talent.
1. Chapter 1 - The Beginning

The Chronicles of Trove

A Talent for Irena

B. A. A.

(Any resemblance to a sound of a fluffy animal is strictly in the mind of the author, who has endured taunts for many years)

Chapter 1

A little dragon pup, separated from its Dracolyte owner, was perched on a tree branch. It was trying to enjoy the sun, and it was cute to watch. Its cute little face and the way it breathed out those little puffs of smoke... what could be cuter, other than cats and dogs? But that was not to last. A poacher came and scooped up the dragon pup and put it into a cage. The little whine it made was so heartbreaking that it made others cry. But, however, that was not close to how Erael was feeling. In 6 months, he would be banished to the Void, where Q'bthulu and the evil Moon Goddess supposedly lived. Of course, those who went into the Void never came back, so Erael was going to try to activate his Trovian talent, if he even had one. The reader is probably wondering what a Trovian talent is, or where the character Erael even lives. So lets back up. The world Erael lives in is a fantastic world known as Trove. What is a Trovian talent? A Trovian talent is the talent that hints at what the class a Trovian will accept. For example, a person who communicates fluently with faeries is going to be a Fae Trickster, and a person who wields fire without any signs of pain is going to be a full-fledged Dracolyte. That person may also have been born with wings and a tail. Erael's friend Cami is one. But, with enough talk, let's get back to Erael. He has jet-black hair, fair skin, and metallic purple irises. If it hadn't been for the test that determined a creature's true race, he may have been mistaken for an Everdark creature. What most people did not know was that Erael had been found next to a Shadow Tower Portal, which was highly unusual. He was also found with an Azulian Dragon ling. He got out of his bed and walked to the kitchen of his family's house. There, his father Roland, a Shadow Hunter was cooking breakfast. Roland and Erael's mother divorced when he Erael was very young, so Erael did not remember anything about his mother. Currently, Roland was cooking food that supposedly came from the Everdark, which is the real name for the Void. Currently, this breakfast was some kind of shadow dragon egg. It looked like a shadowy gloop, but it tasted _very_ good. Although Roland did not say it, he was worried that Erael would be banished to the Void. If a person did not show a Trovian talent by the time they were 12 years old, then they would be banished. Currently, Erael was 11½ years old. As soon as Erael finished his shadow-ish breakfast, he exited his shadow-themed house to play with his friend Cami. Cami is a Dracolyte-in-training, and what made her unique was that she was a direct descendent from the legendary dragon Thallasion. So while most Dracolytes had bland brown robes with a gold trim, Cami's robes were deep sea blue with acid green trim, and while most Dracolytes shot fire from their hands, had a fire dragon ally, laid down fire-bombs, and transformed into a full-fledged fire dragon when provoked, Cami shot bright green acid from her hands, had a sea dragon ally, laid down acid bombs, and turned into a smaller version of Thallasion when provoked. She could also breathe and swim underwater. Her only disadvantage was that it was a little hard to walk on land, and she had some difficulty breathing oxygen. Pretty much, Cami's life on land was somewhat uncomfortable, so she lived underwater. Erael got onto his Azulian dragon and headed off to the Treasure Isles, where Cami lived. Normally, Erael would not have had something so valuable as an Azulian dragon, but this particular one had been with Erael when Roland and his used-to-be-wife found him. But Erael liked the Azulian dragon, and it sure liked him back, so the dragon got to stay with him. It turned out that all dragons could communicate telepathically, and the dragon thought-spoke to Erael that its name is Azul, and that, strangely enough, it could not remember anything before ending up at Erael's, and that a mysterious voice had told her that she needed to stay with Erael. But anyway, that was 4 years ago. _Have you shown a sign of a Trovian talent yet, Erael?_ Thought-spoke Azul to Erael. "No, I haven't, Azul. I'm beginning to worry. I don't want to be banished to where Q'bthulu and the evil Moon Goddess live." Replied Erael. "It seems that you, Cami, and Father are the only ones who understand, Azul." _Do not forget that the Sun Goddess understands also, Erael._ "Oh, yes, the Sun Goddess. I'm sorry, Azul. I'm just so paranoid." _It is okay. Remember that the Sun Goddess forgives everyone._ After a 10-minute flight, Erael and Azul arrived at Cami's home. Azul worked her magic to allow herself and Erael breathe underwater. The only problem was that Cami was one step ahead of them. She anticipated their coming, so she decided to pull a prank on them. "Cami," Erael yelled into the water. "Come out!" "That is not a proper way to address a girl, Erael! Spray them, Thass!" A sea dragon ling swam out of the water, but instead of squirting water from its mouth, it belched light green smoke. A normal Dracolyte dragon ling ally belched out regular smoke, but Cami was no ordinary Dracolyte. The light green smoke was sprayed into Erael's eyes, and they burned like acid was poured into them. He plunged into the water to flush the smoke out. Cami playfully grabbed Erael's leg and dragged him down. Although Azul kept a blank face, everyone within a 30-meter diameter could pick up on her telepathic chuckling. "Ablubbbb! Hbbbb mbbbbb!" was all Erael could say underwater, the water distorting his voice. Eventually, Azul dived in and sent a very high-pitched sound to Cami, and she let go of Erael to put her hands over her head, which did not do anything to stop the sound. Azul abruptly stopped the sound, seeing Cami in pain. Then she extended her magic aura to allow Erael to talk underwater, like Cami. If only he had telepathy! Then he wouldn't have to rely on Azul. Cami glowered at Azul for a moment, but then she reverted to her carefree expression. She and Erael swam to the surface. "Have you discovered your Trovian talent, Erael?" "No, Cami, I have not." Erael replied to Cami. Cami had long, sand-blond hair, ocean-blue irises, and fair skin, and an unusual face that made her so attractive. She is 6 months younger than Erael, making her 11 years old. As Erael was remembering how he first met Cami, a massive skeleton hauled him up and threw him into the water. This was the work of a Tomb Raiser. But who could be that callous? The skeleton grabbed Erael and squeezed him to where Erael heard _crunch_ , and he felt a searing pain where the skeleton had grabbed him. This was the dirty work of Haede, the bully of the zone Erael and Cami lived in. "Haede, why don't you mess with someone who is your own size!" Cami yelled at him. "Aw, it's sea girl standing up for talentless! 'Why don't you mess with someone who is your own size?'" Haede mimicked. He was about to break another of Erael's ribs when 3 brilliant blue circles surrounded him. It was one of Roland's Sun Snares. Roland had gone to the Open Seas to ask Thallasion a question, because apparently Thallasion was a wise dragon, when he saw Haede bullying Erael. "I'm sorry Mister Roland! My skeleton just got out of my control!" Haede pleaded. Roland could see the lie right on his face. "Could you please release me? I can't move! It's uncomfortable! My legs are starting to burn!" "Maybe you'll think of what you did to my son while you wait for someone to find you." Roland said coldly. "Erael, have Azul take you to a restoration station," he added. Erael promptly mounted Azul and took off.

As the magic of the restoration station took hold, Erael wondered if he even had a Trovian talent. And if he had one, how would he know what it was? He would need to find someone, or something highly intelligent to find out. That was when it dawned on him. He would go visit the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing.

Before Erael left his house, he went to his room for one more thing. It was a pot of wild oats. He put it securely into his backpack, as Roland would make him throw it out if he found it. As he headed downstairs, Roland stopped him. "Son, before you go," he said, "I want you to have these." Roland pulled out a sack filled with glass bottles containing a red liquid. "These are Elysian flasks. Whenever you drink one bottle, an eighth of your body is restored, and any curse or illness you have is removed.

"To refill the Elysian flasks, you must visit a Rejuvenation Station. Because I doubt that the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing has one, I am going to give you a portable one. However, just because you have a Rejuvenation Station does not mean you should squander your Elysian flasks, as a Rejuvenation Station can only be placed at a civilized house. Now, do you… what is that?" Roland saw a wild oat sticking out of Erael's backpack. "Son, what have I told you about wild oats?" "I'm sorry, father." Erael replied. "Are those the oats you sow in coarse dirt and water them with your own urine?" "Yes, father." "Well, I know that summoning a nymph is very neat and beautiful, and I myself tried to summon one through wild oats myself, but I forgot to water them myself, and the nymph escaped. You must realize that a nymph is hollow inside and lacks human thoughts. There is only one girl out there who is the match for you." "Her name is Cami."

Erael set out for the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing's castle the next morning. If only he knew what he was getting into!


	2. Chapter 2 - The Sun Touched Shimmer Wing

When Erael set out for the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing, he found, to his great disappointment that Azul had woken up with cramps in her wing joints, so although she could still carry Erael and his supplies, she could not fly. So they had to walk… and walk… and walk… and walk… until they reached a new realm that was new to both of them. On Erael's magical map, it showed that himself and Azul were in some kind of… fiery world! There were all sorts of little fire geysers and huge caverns and tall mountains and statues of dragons… wait, dragons? This was the place Cami had talked about most Dracolytes coming from. It was no other than the legendary Dragonfire Peaks! And it was so… so… hot! After 10 minutes of walking there, Erael was sweating and his leather boots were filled with sweat. He had to get to a cooler place. He checked his map – and Dragonfire Peaks surrounded him! He had to get somewhere cooler! An hour went by. Azul's normally cool breath (she did not use her breath to harm enemies, she mentally assaulted them instead, like she did to Cami in their previous encounter) was now warm and moist. After a few hours of wondering in Dragon… Dragon… what was the name of the place? It was… Dragonfire Peaks! The answer came into Erael's mind and pierced the molasses of his mind. How did the natives survive this place? But then again, the molten men, lava ladybugs, flamedrakes, and Dracolytes had draconic heritage. So of course, they could endure extreme conditions. Even though Azul's breath was becoming moist, she could tolerate the high heat of 150°F, as she was a full-blown dragon. But not Erael! He was now really thirsty, dehydrated even, so his vision was blurry because sweat was dripping into his eyes, and his head was hurting. He saw his Elysian flasks full of the red liquid, and he was so thirsty, so he grabbed one and chugged it. From each sip, he felt better, and after drinking the entire bottle, his dehydration was gone, and he now only felt a little thirsty. His vision even became clear again. But he knew he had to get out of Dragonfire Peaks. Thankfully, his magical map showed that they were approaching the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing's castle.

As Erael and Azul got closer, they saw that the castle was… rather _small_. It seemed to only be 1,000 feet long, with 4 towers. There was not a portcullis, but two wooden doors, each supported with iron bars. Erael tugged on a door. It did not open. Erael asked Azul to shatter the door with her mind, but the door proved to be resilient. What kind of door was this? Erael had came this far, and the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing wouldn't even answer the damn door! Then it dawned on him that this trial was a test of intelligence, or observation, or any trial that did not require brute force. Erael studied the door more closely. There was a little image carved into the door. It depicted a lever on a stone brick wall. What did that mean? But then Erael noticed a lever on a tower to his left. He went over to it and pulled it. But it wouldn't budge! He asked Azul to try to pull it down. She put her front claws on the lever and pulled it down. It worked! The lever went down, the sound of gears and chain were heard, and the wooden doors slowly swung open. Their next challenge awaited them. But this one was _odd_. There was a long hallway, about 200 feet, with nothing in it except for a red carpet with a gold outline, and walls with paintings of floating islands and the Sun Goddess herself. But the oddest thing about the hallway was that the right wall was a mirror without any scratches or blemishes. It was the entire right wall, stretching down the entire hallway. But what was peculiar about the mirror was that in the reflection, the paintings of the left wall of the hallway were not on the wall, but projected directly into the room. But that was nothing, right? So Erael mounted Azul and told her to get to the other side of the hallway. When they were no more than 10 feet through, Erael was smacked against an invisible wall. _What happened, Erael?_ Azul asked him. "I think I ran into an invisible wall." _Well then, try to find a way around it, idiot._ "Azul, remember, insults aren't nice!" _Okay. Sorry._ Erael tried to walk around this invisible wall, but to no avail. Then he tried to crawl under the invisible wall, but that failed also, because there was no gap to crawl into. But then, Azul noticed something. _Erael, whenever you run into that invisible wall, in the mirror, you run into a floating island,_ Azul said. "Wait, really?" _See for yourself._ Erael looked at the mirror, went to where the reflection of a floating island was, and touched the air. Indeed, his hand hit a solid substance. That was when it dawned on him. The nature of this trial was that the mirror showed the invisible obstacles. So he told Azul about it, and they managed to get to the end of the corridor. Now their third challenge awaited them. It was another wooden door, but smaller than the first. Erael knocked on the door, and did not get an answer. Of course he wouldn't get an answer! If the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing was as mean and sadistic as he appeared to be by making these [not so] hellish trials, then of course he would not open the door! Erael studied the door, and noticed a crack forming an exact square. He pushed it… and a cube fell out of the door, forming a kid-sized hole. But since it was kid-sized, Azul could not fit through the hole. Erael went through the hole… and got a rude surprise!

A dream monster was blocking the passageway. It snorted starry clouds from its nostrils that induced hallucinations to anyone who breathed it in. A dream monster is a beast that is three times as large as a grown man, and is black with gray trim in certain areas. Its blue eyes studied Erael. "Abandon all hope ye who enter here" it bellowed. Okay, so now Erael had to deal with _this_ monstrosity? He had came this far, and this beast was blocking him from the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing! "Hey fatty, you'd better let me through or there will be consequences!" Erael bellowed. The dream monster bellowed and charged at Erael. Erael sidestepped… and the dream monster plowed right into the square hole into the wall! "Now who's the intimidating one now!" Erael shouted, and he kicked the thing in the rump. That broke the dream monster's resolve. It pulled itself out of the hole with frightening speed and charged at him. It snorted out a starry cloud, which engulfed Erael, obviously…

 _Erael had returned from the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing's castle. The Sun Touched Shimmer Wing had attempted to reveal Erael's Trovian talent…_

Erael fought to escape the hallucination that this evil creature had wrought on him…

 _But the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing could not find his Trovian talent, as he had none. Erael started his way back to his hometown…_

The dream monster continued to exhale those fumes…

 _"_ _Demonstrate your Trovian talent," the king said. Erael merely said that he had none. "By law of the Code sent down by the Creators, you shall be exiled to the Everdark…_

Okay, the dream monster was taking things _way_ too far…

 _"_ _And as punishment for not having a Trovian talent, on accordance to the Code, is that your loved ones must be executed." Roland and Cami were brought up to a pole where they were chained…_

Erael could not escape this vision…

 _And Gunslingers were brought and sunk rounds into them. Their bodies went limp as their life force drained from them… Soon Erael was chained and was thrown into the portal that led to the void…_

Even though he fought, he could not exit the hallucinations that had been brought onto him…

 _Erael looked behind him, and the portal was gone… He was trapped in this place that was in shades of purple, gray and blue. All of a sudden, the ground rumbled, cracked, and then the largest and most horrifying monstrosity Erael had ever seen rose from the ground. It stood around 500 feet tall, with two bloodshot eyes, wearing a pitch-black cloak with silver runes on it, and two tentacles served as arms. It had no legs, as it moved around by means of levitation. "_ _ **I am Q'bthulu!**_ _" it bellowed…_

That snapped Erael out of the vision. But, surprisingly, the dream monster did not make any movements. "You have passed," was the only thing it said before moving aside. Erael moved on.

Now he came into the Throne Room, where the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing sat on his magnificent throne (or fluttered above). "Hey, Sun Touched Shimmer Wing, can you tell me what my Trovian talent is?" he asked. The Sun Touched Shimmer Wing did not respond. "Uh, Sun Touched Shimmer Wing, are you home?" All of a sudden, the Sun Touched Shimmer Wing's green eyes shot open and he said, "I… am having… a thought! Oh, never mind, I forgot it." _Well, that was weird,_ Erael thought to himself. "Don't mind him, Erael," came a voice behind him. It came from a little cube that was 1 cubic feet in volume, and strangely enough, it had square brown eyes, no pupil or white, just brown, and a thick, brown mustache. It also had shoes made from brown cubes, although it did not seem to have any legs. "The Sun Touched Shimmer Wing is, after all, over 50,000 years old. M'names Qubesly, by the way." The mustache moved up an down as Qubesly spoke, although it did not move far enough up to where Erael could see a mouth. "Your name is Qubesly? That sounds a lot like our King Qubesly!" Erael said. "As a matter of fact, I am." Qubesly spun around, but when he completed a 360o turn, he had changed. He looked _almost_ the same, but now he had a red robe with white trim, and a silver crown with red fabric and rubies. "See what I mean, Erael?" Instead of having that high-pitched voice from before, Qubesly, or _King_ Qubesly, now had a much deeper voice. "How many forms do you have, Qubesly?" "I have many, Erael. There is Chef Qubesly, Patrolman Qubesly, Firefighter Qubesly, Gunslinger Qubesly, King Qubesly, and many others. But, my most powerful form is Chronomancer Qubesly. That form allows me to create, shape, and destroy metal." "But, sir, if you are King Qubesly, can't you just pardon me for not having a Trovian talent?" "Well, Erael, I wish I could, but the Creators wouldn't let me." "Are the Creators the Sun Goddess and the Moon Goddess?" "No, Erael. The Sun Goddess would never exile you for a silly reason for that. The Creators are _the_ creators. They are the ones who created the Sun Goddess, who is also known as Elysia, and the Moon Goddess, who is known as Irena. No one knows who the Creators are, but there are rumors that they run a group called Trion Worlds." "And Qubesly, what ever happened to the Moon Goddess?" "Well, it is a long story. What happened was that Elysia, the Sun Goddess, and Irena, the Moon Goddess, were twins. However, Elysia was the only out of the two of them that could create things. Anything that Irena made crumbled to dust, then disappeared.

"Although Elysia made things for the Moon Goddess to play with, the Moon Goddess started to grow jealous. You have to remember that when a goddess reaches the age of 13,000,000,000, uh, stuff does very strange things to their mind and body…" "Uh, I would rather not talk about that." "Eventually, the Moon Goddess fled into the Void. The proper name for that is the Everdark, though. What the Moon Goddess did not realize, though, is that she _could_ create, it was just that she could not create _willingly._

"What had happened is that her anger had manifested in multiple ways, and some of them had taken actual form. So, yes, the creatures of the Everdark _are_ her creations. And it is said that she still remains there today." "Uh, Qubesly, why did the Sun Goddess create you in the first place?" "Well, when she was only 1,000,000,000 years old, which is one year of age for you, she and Irena wanted someone to play with. So Elysia created me. Now, since that was over 31,000,000,000 years ago, she tasked me in keeping the history of Trove, and to make sure that this land does not tear apart. So that is why I constantly travel." "So, can I stay here for the night and leave in the morning?" "Sure, Erael."

Erael reached his home village. But, sadly, in 6 months, he did not find his Trovian talent. See more in the next chapter, _Exile_!


End file.
